Urban agriculture program building next generation of climate activists in Cleveland

The kids learn basic animal science in the classroom then applied animal science out here with an emphasis on small livestock production.

By Taylor Bruck
Spectrum News
NOV. 08, 2021

Excerpt:

EUCLID, Ohio — On the corner of Fox Avenue and Babbitt Street in the city of Euclid sits a small farm run by students at Lake Shore Compact, a career technical consortium serving Euclid, Mentor and Wickliffe school systems. It’s managed by one very passionate teacher, Joshua Stephens.

“I’m trying to push agriculture back to where it was thousands of years ago, which is right where we all were. A long time ago, everybody raised their own food. Everybody had a goat in their backyard. And we’re trying to get ourselves back to that point where the people are more connected to the food they eat and the clothing they wear,” said Stephens, instructor of Urban Agriculture at Lake Shore Compact.

“The kids learn basic animal science in the classroom then applied animal science out here with an emphasis on small livestock production. We have chickens and goats and inside we also have an angora rabbitry.”

As we work to deal with climate change and a growing population, Stephens said we need to utilize all the land and resources we can. That’s where urban agriculture comes into play. Urban agriculture, at its foundation, is taking unused land in a city and transforming it into something useful that gives back to the community.

Read the complete article here.